Chelsea began their Premier League title defense rather crudely against Swansea City—Garry Monk's side ran away with their share of the spoils in a 2-2 thriller.

Jose Mourinho unsurprisingly plumped for the workmanlike holding pair of Cesc Fabregas and Nemanja Matic in midfield against the Swans, hoping for some guile in possession. Eden Hazard, Oscar and Willian aligned in front of the double pivot, as the rallied Diego Costa spearheaded the attack. Garry Monk—looking for his first victory over the Blues—handed Andre Ayew his very first appearance in a Swansea shirt, and the Ghanaian did not disappoint the travelling Welsh supporters. Lukas Fabianski, Ashley Williams, Jonjo Shelvey and Jefferson Montero also started for the Swans. More: Manchester United 1-0 Tottenham Hotspur match report

The Stamford Bridge faithful revved up in anticipation of what promised to be a galvanic 2015/16 league opener. 'Born Is The King Of Stamford Bridge' traditionally echoed around the Bridge ahead of kick-off; the Blues' supporters were in full voice, and being deprived of football all summer added to the hype of this occasion.

As you would expect, Chelsea started brightly; Oscar flourished in the No.10 role, Cesc Fabregas dictated play partnered alongside Nemanja Matic in the holding area, the back four settled instantaneously and the Eden Hazard-Diego Costa combination ruled up front. Bafe Gomis piqued goalkeeper Courtois' perusal by almost making it 1-0. A corner from the left saw the striker beat Ivanovic to the ball, but his effort tumbled across the face of goal and wide of the far post. Perhaps the visitor's best chance of proceedings in the first half fell to Gomis yet again. He surged through unmarked and was one-on-one but checked back onto his left foot, limiting himself for space and then saw his effort saved by Courtois. Oscar was flourishing behind the striker Diego Costa, and his efforts finally paid off. The Brazilian whipped in a free-kick from the left, Gary Cahill missed a flick at the ball as it bounced all the way through inside the far post to make it 1-0. It scampered past Swansea goalkeeper Fabianski, despite his best efforts. More: 3pm kickoffs roundup as Leicester pummel SunderlandSwansea quickly responded, however. Jefferson Montero's galvanizing pace and unerring accuracy would prove a placeholder of another focal point for the Swans' spurting onslaught—another perfectly-timed cross from the Ecuadorian was lanced onto by Gomis as he pummeled a header at the bottom corner—forcing an excellent save from the defiant Courtois. The rebound fell to Andre Ayew on his first appearance for the Welsh side; his initial shot was finely blocked by John Terry, but the Ghanaian quickly pounced on Terry's misfortunes and evaded several challenges before planting the ball into the far corner to level the game at one apiece. Jefferson Montero caused nightmares for Branislav Ivanovic on that right flank throughout the entire game; the Serbian was exposed, for once, and simply could not handle his speed.

Image: Sky Sports

And boom; just like that, Chelsea moved back in front. A silky pass to the left-hand side of the box found Willian, and as the tricky Brazilian cut in to either cross or shoot (we don't really know), the ball deflected horribly off hapless Fernandez and looped over his own goalkeeper, right into the far corner of the net to immediately restore Chelsea's one-goal cushion. As you can clearly see, it was exceedingly poxy:Swansea suffered a further blow in the 41st minute as last year's Player Of The Year Ki Sung-Yueng was forced to depart the game courtesy of an injury. Jack Cork entered as his replacement. Having scored five goals in two games against the Swans last season, Ashley Williams and Co. must have had nightmares at the prospect of facing Diego Costa once again—the Brazilian-born striker did not increase his tally in the first half but certainly looked lively. The Swans started the second half where they had left off; it began with a flurry of scoring opportunities for Garry Monk's side. A Gylfi Sigurdsson free-kick deflected off the wall and gustily flew over the bar. Federico Fernandez was left unmarked in the Chelsea box but headed off target after it plummeted past Courtois. In the 50th minute, Sigurdsson curled yet another Swansea corner off the near post. Garry Monk's side began the half in high-octane nature and eventually got their reward. Thibaut Courtois charged from goal as Gomis tipped the ball past the Belgian and tumbled as the Chelsea goalkeeper stuck out his right leg to intercept. After a sustained delay, referee Michael Oliver awarded a penalty and Courtois was shown a straight red card. A descendance for Chelsea would worsen the blow when Gomis coolly slotted the ball past Asmir Begovic, who had entered the game moments earlier. Courtois' judgement cost Chelsea two points as Swansea scored the spot-kick and dominated most of the second half.

Image: PremierLeague.com

Mourinho introduced defensive-orientated Kurt Zouma as the game approached its conclusion, hoping for more guile in possession. Prior to the substitution, Chelsea's lethargic and sluggish defending gifted Gomis another opportunity—an opportunity that the Frenchman took full advantage of—but it was ruled out for offside by the official. Perhaps that's what triggered Mourinho in introducing the powerful defender. Chelsea pushed to find a dramatic winner, but could not find a breakthrough; Swansea's low block decelerated the tempo and disheveled the Blues' rhythm time and time again, as Chelsea's efforts grew more futile and jittery. The full-time whistle eventually resonated, much to the despair of the home supporters. Swansea were fantastic; and they deserved their share of the spoils.